Lighter with guard

ABSTRACT

The lighter of the present invention provides a resiliently deformable guard that covers a portion of the striking wheel assembly. To operate the lighter, a user exerts sufficient pressure to depress the guard before rotating the striking wheel assembly. The present invention provides retention mechanisms to make removal of the guard more difficult. Further, the lighter of the present invention provides brake members to prevent the rotation of the striking wheel assembly when the user attempts to release fuel prior to rotating the striking wheel assembly.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/261,527 nowU.S. Pat. No. 5,520,197 filed Jun. 17, 1994, which is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/097,685, now U.S. Pat.No. 5,483,978 filed Jul. 28, 1993.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a cigarette lighter having a guard deviceincorporated into the lighter. Such devices help to resist undesiredusage of the lighter by young children.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recently, attention has been directed toward preventing ready actuationof lighters by persons normally not able to appreciate the potentialdanger of the flame. Such danger includes the potential to burn theindividual directly or to burn surrounding areas or items. Individualsnormally contemplated in these efforts are young children in the agecategory of five years or younger.

A conventional cigarette lighter includes a body containing a fuelreservoir filled with a liquified and pressurized hydrocarbon fuel, avalve actuator lever, a striker wheel, a flint in frictional contactwith the striker wheel, a fuel flow control valve in fluid communicationwith the fuel reservoir. After the striker wheel is rotated against theflint by digital manipulation to produce sparks, the valve actuatorlever is depressed allowing gaseous hydrocarbon fuel to flow out of thereservoir through the flow control valve. The sparks then ignite thereleased fuel producing a flame. Such lighters are known in the art, andare commercially available.

It is relatively easy for the intended adult users to operate theconventional prior art lighters. It is desirable to increase thedifficulty of use to limit the ability of young children under fiveyears of age to operate such lighters. For this reason there are manyproposed "child-resistant" lighters offered in the patent literature andon the market. Examples of such patents include U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,829;U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,482; U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,886; U.S. Pat. No.5,090,893; and PCT Application No. WO 93/17282. Each of the discloseddevices has in common the fact that the child-resistant feature somehowacts to block movement of the gas fuel release mechanism to preventoperation of the lighter.

Although many of the currently available designs provide a degree of"child resistancy," there is a continuing search in the art for designswhich are easy for the intended adult to operate while retaining their"child resistancy."

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a lighter whichis easily operated by an adult, but resistant to operation by youngchildren.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such lighter that canbe relatively easy to manufacture with a minimal design modification.

It is another object of the invention to provide a child-resistantfeature for such a lighter that is not easily defeated or removed by thenormal user.

These and other objects are achieved according to the present inventionby a lighter that requires at least a threshold amount of digitalpressure, i.e., pressure exerted by a finger or thumb, be applied on aprotective guard before the striking wheel assembly can be rotatedagainst the flint to create sparks. Further, the present inventionprovides a combination of retention elements to make the removal of theprotective guard more difficult. Additionally, the present inventionincludes brake means to prevent the striking wheel assembly fromrotating after the valve actuator is depressed.

These features are provided by a lighter comprising a body having a fuelreservoir and a cylindrical cavity, and a striking wheel assemblyrotatably mounted on the body at a top end, wherein the striking wheelassembly comprises a rotary sparker and at least one turning wheelmounted co-axially with the rotary sparker. The lighter furthercomprises a flint disposed within the cylindrical cavity and biased intofrictional contact with the rotary sparker, wherein rotation of therotary sparker against the flint creates sparks, and a valve forreleasing fuel from the fuel reservoir to outside the body of thelighter, wherein the valve has an open position and a closed position.The lighter further comprises a valve actuator pivotally attached to thebody, wherein the actuator is capable of moving the valve between theopen position and closed position, and a shield.

The lighter of the present invention further comprises a covercomprising an arcuate guard disposed above the rotary sparker andelevated above the at least one turning wheel, wherein the cover furthercomprises a head portion which couples the guard to the shield, andwherein the arcuate guard is depressed to a level where the at least oneturning wheel can be manipulated, and a stop member disposed on thelighter body at a predetermined distance from the guard to limitdeflection of the guard. Alternatively, the guard and the head portioncan be made integral to the shield.

Further, instead of being part of the cover, which is in turn coupled tothe shield, the arcuate guard can be manufactured separately anddirectly coupled to the shield. Additionally, the guard may also have aspark blocking member disposed between the fuel valve and the strikingwheel assembly to prevent the spark from reaching the fuel valve, and aspark orifice to allow the spark to pass therethrough after the guard isdepressed.

The valve actuator of the lighter comprises at least one brake member,preferably having a plurality of teeth on one side, wherein after thevalve actuator is depressed and the valve is moved to the open position,the teeth of the at least one brake member arrest the rotation of thestriking wheel assembly.

Also, the shield of the lighter comprises a plurality of retentionelements for resisting the removal of the shield from the body of thelighter, wherein the retention elements preferably comprise (i) a pairof tongues orientated upwardly and located on the shield and a pair ofcorresponding recesses located on the top end of the body of thelighter, (ii) a pair of flanges on the shield, wherein the flangeswraparound a first edge of said top end, and (iii) a pair of detents onthe shield cooperating with a pair of holes defined by the top end. Ahook also may be provided on the end of the guard to catch under thevalve actuator and further increase the difficulty of removing theshield.

Thus, a lighter having the above described guard feature should providea young child with sufficient deterrent features as to prevent the childfrom readily producing a flame, or to deter the child from readilyproducing a flame at least for a time sufficient to permit the normallyexpected adult intervention. Additionally, the retention elements on theshield should provide a higher level of resistance against theundesirable removal of the shield.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lighter of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is cross-sectional side view of the lighter of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional rear view of the lighter of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the lighter of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a valve actuator of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a valve actuator of the presentinvention along line 6--6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a valve actuator of the presentinvention along line 7--7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a shield and guard of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of a shield and guard of thepresent invention along line 9--9 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the body of the lighter of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the body of the lighter of thepresent invention along line 11--11 in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a side view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an exploded partial rear view of the lighter shown in FIG.12;

FIG. 14 is a side view of another arcuate guard of the lighter shown inFIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a partial rear view of the lighter shown in FIG. 12 with apartial cutaway;

FIG. 16 is a partial rear view of the lighter shown in FIG. 15 with thearcuate guard depressed;

FIG. 17 is a partial side view of the lighter shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 is a partial side view of the lighter shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is a partial side view of another guard of the lighter of thepresent invention;

FIG. 20 is a partial front view of the lighter shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a front view of another arcuate guard according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 22 is a side view of the guard shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a partial side view of a lighter of the present inventionhaving the guard shown in FIGS. 21 and 22;

FIG. 24 is a partial side view of the lighter shown in FIG. 23 with theguard depressed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers are used todesignate like parts and as shown in FIG. 1, lighter 10 according to thepresent invention is shown having a protective guard 60 disposed above aportion of the striking wheel assembly.

More particularly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, lighter 10 has body 12 withstriking wheel assembly 14 rotatably disposed between spark-wheelsupports 15 (shown partially in phantom in FIG. 2) via axle 16. Strikingwheel assembly 14 is located at the top end of body 12 and comprisesturning wheels 18 disposed on each side of rotary sparker 20. The twoturning wheels 18 and sparker 20 are connected to one another, and aremounted co-axially on axle 16. Body 12 defines a cylindrical cavity 22positioned longitudinally and centrally within body 12. Flint 24 isdisposed within cavity 22, and is urged into frictional contact withrotary sparker 20 by spring 26.

Lighter 10 further comprises a valve actuator 28, which is pivotallymounted on body 12 through tabs 30, which are located below axle 16. Asshown in FIGS. 5-7, valve actuator 28 defines slot 32 at one end. At theother end of the valve actuator 28 is thumb pad 36. In its middleregion, valve actuator 28 defines an opening 37, which allows flint 24to extend from lighter body 12 through valve actuator 28 to reach rotarysparker 20.

Valve 40 controls the release of fuel from reservoir 42. In a preferredembodiment, valve 40 is a normally open valve, forced open by thepressure of fuel within reservoir 42. In this embodiment, as shown inFIG. 2, valve actuator 28 acts on valve 40 to maintain it in a closedposition. Compression spring 44 pushes up on a first end of valveactuator 28, forcing the second, opposite end to act downwardly on valve40 where it extends through slot 32. This pressure maintains the valvein a closed position until thumb pad 36 is sufficiently depressedallowing the nozzle 34 of valve 40 to be lifted and thereby releasingthe fuel. Second compression spring 38 acts between the valve actuatorand valve stem to prevent release of fuel before the thumb pad isdepressed to a sufficiently actuated position. It is contemplated thatother suitable valve configurations may be selected by persons ofordinary skill in the art. For example, a normally closed valve, whichis forced open by the lifting of the second end of the valve actuatordue to depression of the thumb pad may be utilized.

Valve actuator 28 further comprises two brake members 46 as shown inFIGS. 5-7. Each brake member 46 preferably has a generally angledsurface with a plurality of teeth 48 on one side of the brake member.Teeth 48 are oriented toward turning wheels 18. The two brake members 46work in conjunction with the two turning wheels 18 to stop the rotationof the striking wheel assembly. Other configurations, such as a curvedsurface opposing the turning wheels with a material to grip or tootherwise engage the turning wheels or other parts of the striking wheelassembly, or a squared off member with an edge that catches on a turningwheel may be used. A person of ordinary skill in the art may select asuitable configuration for stopping the rotation of the striking wheelassembly based on the teachings of the present invention. After thevalve actuator 28 is depressed and moved into its operative position,the brake members move toward the striking wheel assembly and engage theturning wheels in such a way that teeth 48 mesh with the teeth 49 on theturning wheels 18 and arrest any further rotation of striking wheelassembly 14.

Lighter 10 also has windbreaking shield 50 mounted on top of body 12enclosing the spark-wheel supports 15 and around valve 40, as shown inFIG. 2. Shield 50 assists in the generation and maintenance of theflame. Referring to FIGS. 8-9, shield 50 comprises body portion 52 andcover portion 54, which includes head portion 58 and arcuate guard 60.Cover 54 is fixedly attached to body portion 52 at neck 56; preferablyit is formed integrally therewith as shown. Head portion 58 definesflame orifice 62, which is disposed directly above valve 40. Preferablyintegrally connected to head portion 58 is guard 60. Alternatively,instead of being made integral with head portion 58, arcuate guard 60may be separately formed and then coupled or otherwise mechanicallylinked to head portion 58, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, where a slightlydifferent lighter 10 is shown. In this embodiment, head portion 58 canbe an integral part of shield 50. To increase the resiliency of guard60, slits 59 are provided at the location where guard 60 is coupled tohead portion 58 as shown in FIG. 20.

Guard 60 can also be separately formed and fitted over or under theshield and over the rotary sparker. An example of such an arcuate guardis shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. As shown, guard 60 comprises at least oneretaining member 61 and an end 63 with a reduced width. End 63 isinserted into a cavity or hole 33 provided in the actuator 28, as shownin FIGS. 12 and 23. Retaining member 61 on the opposite end of the guardis fitted under shield 50 such that guard 60 is disposed over the rotarysparker, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 15.

Alternatively, end 63 may be inserted through opening 37 of valveactuator 28 until end 63 comes into contact with a portion of lighterbody 12, such as stop member 66 which is shown in FIG. 2. As such, end63 may be inserted into a hole in the lighter body rather than a hole inthe valve actuator.

Additionally, in this embodiment guard 60 may also have a spark blockingmember 65, located below the retaining member 61 as shown in FIG. 22.Referring to FIG. 23, spark blocking member 65 is disposed between thestriking wheel assembly 14 and fuel valve 40, such that unless the guardis depressed, spark blocking member 65 prevents any spark that might beproduced from igniting the fuel released from fuel valve 40. Guard 60also defines a spark orifice 67 disposed between spark blocking member65 and retaining member 61 as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, such that afterthe guard is depressed the spark orifice 67 is disposed between thestriking wheel assembly and the fuel valve, as shown in FIG. 24, andspark blocking member 65 is moved downward.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, guard 60 is shaped and dimensioned to fitover the rotary sparker 20, and to be positioned radially beyond andabove the turning wheels 18. However, the width of guard 60 is such thatit extends between but preferably not over wheels 18. Guard 60 ispreferably elevated above the surfaces of the turning wheels 18, suchthat guard 60 should be depressed before turning wheels 18 can berotated. Further, guard 60 preferably terminates at the opposite endwith a curved hook or lip 64 (see FIG. 9).

After the lighter 10 is assembled, curved lip 64 passes through opening37 of valve actuator 28 and is positioned at a predetermined distanceabove a stop member 66 (see FIG. 2). Stop member 66 may be formed as aledge on the exterior wall of cylindrical cavity 22. As stated above, toproduce a flame, the user depresses guard 60. Responding to the exertedpressure on guard 60, cover 54 is deformed typically at neck 56, therebyproducing an elastic deflection about neck 56 (as shown in FIG. 2).Guard 60 displaces across some or all of the predetermined distancebetween curved lip 64 and stop member 66. Stop member 66 prevents theover-deflection of cover 54 to protect the elasticity of neck 56. Inaddition to the elastic deflection about neck 56, arcuate guard 60 mayalso be elastically deformed in response to the pressure applied onguard 60. After the applied pressure is relieved, neck 56 and guard 60will resume their former shapes and positions.

To operate the lighter of the present invention the user asserts asufficient pressure greater than a predetermined pressure necessary todeform guard 60 and/or to deform neck 56, such that guard 60 at leastpartially moves to a position closer to the turning wheels 18, or to aposition between the turning wheels 18, to permit the user's finger toengage the wheels for rotation, as shown generally in FIGS. 15, 16, 17and 18. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 17, guard 60 is in its undepressedstate. Referring to FIGS. 16 and 18, F1 is first applied to guard 60 topartially move it to a position where turning wheels 18 can bemanipulated. F2 is then applied to rotate the turning wheels 18 toproduce the spark. F3 is then applied to depress thumb pad 36 of valveactuator 28 to actuate valve 40 to release the fuel to be ignited by theproduced spark.

Alternatively, it is not necessary to deform guard 60 or to bend neck56. If guard 60 is positioned such that the fleshy, pulp portion of theadult user's finger is sufficient to extend over and around guardportion 60, the adult's finger can contact turning wheels 18 forrotation without such deformation. Preferably, rotation of the turningwheels would be a result of a combination of both types of action, i.e.,the deformation of the guard and neck and the extension of the adultfinger partially around the guard. It has been found that a shield andguard made of 1050 C.R. steel hardened by heat treatment to a hardnessequal to a Rockwell C-40 hardness, with a thickness of about 0.020 inch(0.5 mm), provide satisfactory results. As will be appreciated bypersons of ordinary skill in the art, other materials, hardnesses andthicknesses may be used. Based on the teachings of the present inventionas set forth herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art could adaptthe present invention as desired.

Rotation of the turning wheels 18 causes a spark to be produced in aconventional manner. After the spark is produced by rotation of theturning wheels 18, the user's finger depresses the thumb pad 36 on thevalve actuator 28 to actuate a release of fuel from the valve 40. Thisaction occurs after the creation of the spark, as shown in FIG. 18. Whenrotated with sufficient force by an adult user, the spark created islarge enough to ignite the fuel even though it is normally not releaseduntil a period of time after the creation of the spark.

The lighter as described above, is child-resistant because generallychildren under five years of age do not have sufficient coordination,digit size or strength to operate the present invention as described. Inorder to resist two-hand operation of the lighter, brake members 46 aspreviously described are provided. The brake members 46 engage turningwheels 18 to prevent rotation thereof once the valve actuator isdepressed. Thus, if a user attempts to actuate the lighter by firstdepressing the valve actuator 28 with one hand and then rotating theturning wheels 18 with another, brake members 46 engage turning wheels18 to prevent rotation thereof and thus prevent creation of a spark.Preferably, tension spring 38 prevents the release of fuel from valve 40until thumb pad 36 is depressed to a position wherein the brake membersengage the turning wheels.

Because guard 60 forms part of the resistancy of the lighter, it isadvantageous to resist or make more difficult the removal of guard 60.The present invention therefore provides a retention system designed tomake more difficult the removal of shield 50 as compared to the shieldsof prior art lighters. The retention system works in conjunction withspark-wheel supports 15 located at the top end of lighter body 12 andwith the actuator 28 to secure shield 50 in place. In a preferredembodiment, the retention system according to the present inventioncomprises a number of retention means formed in shield 50, includinghook 64 at the end of guard 60, tongues 68, detents 70 and flanges 80.The various means may be employed in different combinations or alltogether.

The formation of hook 64 at the end of guard 60 is clearly shown in FIG.9. Referring also to FIG. 8, other retention means are shown. Tongues 68extend inwardly on the inside of body portion 52 of shield 50. In apreferred embodiment, the tongues are stamped from the material of theshield. Detents 70 are also formed in the side of body 52, againpreferably stamped therein and extending inwardly. Flanges 80 are formedby stamping and folding over a portion of body 52 which also creates airvents 82. Flanges 80 thus comprise a portion of the body 52 foldedinward to create vertically and inwardly extending flanges.

When shield 50 is assembled onto the lighter body 12, the retentionmeans as described above secure the shield in place and increase thedifficulty of its removal. Tongues 68 are received in correspondingrecesses 74 on spark-wheel supports 15 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.Detents 70 are received in the outside ends of holes 79 as shown inFIGS. 10 and 11, which also carry spark-wheel axle 16. Hook 64 on theend of guard 60 extends through opening 37 in valve actuator 28 andengages under recess 39 (as shown in FIG. 6) of the valve actuator 28.Flanges 80 lock against the vertical surface 84 of each spark-wheelsupport 15 again as shown in FIGS. 2, 10 and 11. This combination ofretention means and the increased stiffness of the shield, produced forexample by heat treating as stated above, increases the difficulty ofmoving the shield front to back or up and down and thus increases thedifficulty of removing guard 60. Such retention means also may beemployed with safety elements other than guard 60 which may be mountedon the windbreaking shield of the lighter.

While various descriptions of the present invention were describedabove, it is understood that the various features of the presentinvention can be used singly or in any combination thereof. Therefore,this invention is not to be limited to only the specifically preferredembodiments depicted therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lighter comprising:a lighter body containing afuel reservoir with a valve for releasing fuel therefrom; sparkproducing element rotatable by a user to produce sparks directed towardsaid valve, said element mounted on the body with at least a portionthereof exposed of manipulation and rotation by the user; a valveactuator depressible to actuate said valve and release said fuel; and aguard member mounted on the lighter and extending around at least saidexposed portion of said spark producing element, wherein said shieldmember is disposed radially outward from said spark producing elementand is depressible to a position permitting manipulation of said sparkproducing element.
 2. The lighter as set forth in claim 1 wherein theguard member comprises a first end, wherein the first end is insertedinto a hole defined in the valve actuator and secured to the lighterthereby.
 3. The lighter as set forth in claim 1 wherein the guard membercomprises a first end, wherein the first end is inserted through anopening through the valve actuator and received in a hole in the lighterbody.
 4. The lighter as set forth in claim 1 wherein the lighter furthercomprises a windbreaking shield disposed on the lighter body and whereinthe guard is fixedly coupled at one end to said shield.
 5. The lighteras set forth in claim 4 wherein the guard member is formed integrallywith said shield.
 6. The lighter as set forth in claim 4 wherein atleast one slit is provided at a location where the guard is coupled tothe shield.
 7. The lighter as set forth in claim 1 wherein the guardmember further comprises a spark blocking member normally interposedbetween the valve and the spark producing element to prevent sparks fromreaching the valve unless the shield is depressed.
 8. The lighter as setforth in claim 7 wherein the guard member further defines a flashaperture positioned on said member such that when the shield isdepressed, the flash aperture is moved to a position adjacent to thevalve allowing sparks to pass therethrough to reach the valve.
 9. Thelighter as set forth in claim 8 wherein a pressure necessary to depressthe guard is proportional to the thickness of the guard.
 10. The lighteras set forth in claim 9 wherein the pressure necessary to depress theguard is further proportional in part to the stiffness of the guard. 11.The lighter as set forth in claim 10 wherein the guard is depressible bydigital pressure.
 12. The lighter as set forth in claim 11 wherein thedigital pressure required to depress the guard and to operate the sparkproducing element is sufficient to increase the level of difficulty,compared to prior art lighters, of the operation of the lighter by achild.
 13. A lighter comprising:a lighter body containing a fuelreservoir with a valve for releasing fuel therefrom, wherein the valvecomprises a nozzle arranged along the longitudinal axis andcommunicating with the fuel reservoir to selectively permit release offuel from the reservoir; spark producing element rotatable by a user toproduce sparks directed towards released fuel, said element mounted onthe body with at least a portion thereof exposed for manipulation androtation by the user; guard member mounted on the lighter and extendingaround at least said exposed portion of said spark producing element,wherein said guard member is disposed radially outward from said sparkproducing element by a predetermined distance such that manipulation ofsaid element is prevented until application of a predetermined forcesufficient to elastically deform said guard member to a positionpermitting manipulation of said spark producing element; valve actuatordepressible to actuate said valve and release said fuel; and brakemember cooperating with said valve actuator to prevent rotation of saidspark producing element after depression of said valve actuator.
 14. Thelighter according to claim 13, wherein:said valve actuator comprises apivoting lever pivotable about a point disposed under said sparkproducing element with a first end depressible by a user and a secondend raisable in response thereto to actuate said valve; and said brakemember comprises at least one upstanding member disposed on saidpivotable lever between said second end and the pivot point such thatdepression of the first end causes the brake member to engage the sparkproducing element.
 15. The lighter according to claim 13, wherein saidguard member is integrally formed with a shield surrounding andprotecting the fuel release valve.
 16. The lighter according to claim15, further comprising retention means for increasing the difficulty ofremoval of said shield.
 17. The lighter according to claim 16, whereinsaid retention means comprises a hook formed at an end of the guardmember and extending through an opening defined by the valve actuator,said hook engaging the valve actuator if the guard is raised.
 18. Thelighter according to claim 16, wherein:said retention means comprises aportion of the shield folded inward to engage a surface of the lighterbody.
 19. The lighter according to claim 16, wherein the retention meanscomprises at least one detent formed in the shield, wherein said detentis received in a corresponding opening defined by the lighter body, saidopening also for receiving an axle for supporting the spark producingelement.
 20. The lighter according to claim 19, wherein the retentionmeans further comprises a plurality of tongues disposed on the shield,wherein the tongues are received in a corresponding plurality ofrecesses formed in the lighter body.
 21. The lighter according to claim13, wherein said guard member has a free end extending towards thelighter body with a hook formed in said free end, said hook beingdisposed behind a part of the lighter such that raising of the guardmember causes said hook to engage said part whereby raising of the guardmember is resisted.
 22. A lighter comprising:a body having a fuelreservoir and defining a central cylindrical cavity; a striking wheelassembly rotatably mounted on the body at a top end, wherein thestriking wheel assembly comprises a rotary sparker and at least oneturning wheel mounted coaxially with the rotary sparker; a flintdisposed within the cylindrical cavity and in frictional contact withthe rotary sparker, wherein rotation of the rotary sparker against theflint creates sparks; a valve for releasing fuel from the fuel reservoirto outside the body of the lighter, wherein the valve has an openposition and a closed position valve and wherein the valve comprises anozzle arranged along the longitudinal axis and communicating with thefuel reservoir to selectively permit release of fuel from the reservoir;a valve actuator pivotally attached to the body, wherein the actuatorcontrols movement of the valve between the open position and closedposition; a shield mounted on the body, comprising an arcuate guardmember disposed around a portion of the rotary sparker and elevatedabove the at least one turning wheel, wherein the arcuate guard isdepressible to expose the at least one turning wheel; and a stop memberon the lighter body, wherein the stop member is positioned at apredetermined distance away from the guard member to limit the travel ofthe guard member when depressed.
 23. The lighter as set forth in claim22, further comprising at least one brake member mounted on the valveactuator, wherein after the valve actuator is depressed and the valve ismoved toward the open position, said at least one brake member engagesthe striking wheel assembly to arrest the rotation of the striking wheelassembly.
 24. The lighter as set forth in claim 23, wherein said brakemember comprises a gripping member adapted to engage the striking wheelassembly.
 25. The lighter as set forth in claim 22, wherein the shieldcomprises a plurality of retention elements to resist the removal of theshield from the body of the lighter.
 26. The lighter as set forth inclaim 25, wherein the plurality of retention elements comprises:a pairof tongues disposed on the shield and a pair of corresponding recesseslocated on the top end of the body of the lighter; and a pair of flangeson the shield, wherein the flanges engage a first edge of said top end.27. The lighter as set forth in claim 26, wherein the plurality ofretention elements further comprises:a pair of detents disposed on theshield, wherein the detents are received by a pair of correspondingopenings defined by the lighter body.
 28. A lighter comprising:a bodyhaving a top end, a fuel reservoir and defining a central cylindricalcavity; a striking wheel assembly rotatably mounted on the body at thetop end, wherein the striking wheel assembly comprises a rotary sparkerand at least one turning wheel mounted co-axially with the rotarysparker; a flint disposed within the cylindrical cavity and infrictional contact with the rotary sparker, wherein rotation of therotary sparker against the flint creates sparks; a valve for releasingfuel from the fuel reservoir to outside the body of the lighter, whereinthe valve has an open position and a closed position and wherein thevalve comprises a nozzle arranged along the longitudinal axis andcommunicating with the fuel reservoir to selectively permit release offuel from the reservoir; and a valve actuator pivotally attached to thebody, wherein the actuator controls movement of the valve between theopen position and closed position and wherein the actuator comprises atleast one brake member having a gripping member, wherein after the valveactuator is depressed and the valve is moved toward the open position,the gripping member arrests the rotation of the striking wheel assembly.29. A lighter as set forth in claim 28, further comprising awindbreaking shield mounted on the lighter body including a safetyelement to limit operation of the lighter and wherein said shieldincludes a plurality of retention elements to resist the removal of theshield from the body of the lighter.
 30. The lighter as set forth inclaim 29, wherein the plurality of retention elements comprises:a pairof tongues disposed on the shield and a pair of corresponding recesseslocated on the top end of the body of the lighter; and a pair of flangeson the shield, wherein the flanges engage a first edge of said top end.31. The lighter as set forth in claim 30, wherein the plurality ofretention elements further comprises:a pair of detents disposed on theshield, wherein the detents are received by a pair of correspondingopenings defined by said top end.
 32. A lighter comprising:a body havinga top end, a fuel reservoir and defining a central cylindrical cavity; astriking wheel assembly rotatably mounted on an axle received inopenings in the body at the top end, wherein the striking wheel assemblycomprises a rotary sparker and at least one turning wheel mountedco-axially with the rotary sparker; a flint disposed within thecylindrical cavity and in frictional contact with the rotary sparker,wherein rotation of the rotary sparker against the flint creates sparks;a valve for releasing fuel from the fuel reservoir to outside the bodyof the lighter, wherein the valve has an open position and a closedposition; a valve actuator pivotally attached to the body, wherein theactuator is capable of moving the valve between the open position andclosed position and wherein the valve comprises a nozzle arranged alongthe longitudinal axis and communicating with the fuel reservoir toselectively permit release of fuel from the reservoir; a shield mountedon the lighter body and surrounding said valve, said shield including asafety element to limit operation of the lighter; and retention meansdisposed on the shield for resisting and increasing the difficulty ofremoval of the shield and safety element from the body of the lighter.33. The lighter as set forth in claim 32, wherein said retention meanscomprises:a pair of tongues disposed on the shield and a pair ofcorresponding recesses located on the top end of the body of thelighter, said tongues being received in said recesses; and a pair offlanges on the shield, wherein the flanges engage an edge of said topend.
 34. The lighter as set forth in claim 32, wherein said retentionmeans comprises:a pair of detents disposed on the shield, wherein thedetents are received in the corresponding openings defined in thelighter body; and a pair of tongues disposed on the shield and a pair ofcorresponding recesses located on the top end of the body of thelighter, said tongues being received in said recesses.
 35. The lighteras set forth in claim 34, wherein said guard element comprises a covercomprising an arcuate guard disposed above the rotary sparker andelevated above the at least one turning wheel, said cover and guardbeing formed integrally with the shield such that the arcuate guard isdepressible to a position where the at least one turning wheel ismanipulable.